Kilograms-force to Kilonewtons (kgf to kN)

1 kilogram-force equals 0.00980665 kilonewtons exactly.

How to convert kilograms-force to kilonewtons

To convert kilograms-force to kilonewtons, multiply the number of kilograms-force by 0.00980665. This factor is exact. To go the other way, multiply kilonewtons by 101.9716213 (rounded).

kilonewtons = kilograms-force × 0.00980665

Example: 10 kilograms-force = 0.0980665 kilonewtons.

About these units

Kilogram-force (kgf)

CGS & old metricTraditional unit (still used in some regions)

Exactly 9.80665 newtons: the weight of one kilogram at standard gravity. Also called the kilopond; still common for torque and force in Asia and older European specs.

Before the newton existed, engineers simply measured force by the weight of a standard mass, and the kilogram-force was that idea made official. Its alternative name, kilopond, comes from the Latin pondus, meaning weight. Its size depended on local gravity until 1901, when the General Conference on Weights and Measures adopted 9.80665 m/s2 as standard gravity, which fixed one kilogram-force at exactly 9.80665 newtons. The newton was proposed in 1913 and accepted in 1948.

A proposal to make the kilogram-force an official unit of force was rejected, and it is deprecated and outside SI. Even so it persists in niche uses: bicycle spoke tension, archery bow draw weight, bond wire strength and Vickers hardness testing. German rocket engineers of the 1940s quoted thrust in it, and Soviet and Russian space programs kept doing so until at least the late 1980s. Metric horsepower is defined from it. One kilogram-force is about 2.20462 pound-force and equals 980,665 dynes.

1 kilogram-force = 9.80665 newtons (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Kilogram-force; NIST SP 811, Appendix B.8 conversion factors

Kilonewton (kN)

Metric (SI)Current unit

1,000 newtons. Used for structural loads, climbing gear ratings and engine thrust.

Kilonewtons exist because the newton is small. The prefix kilo- dates to the 1795 French decimal system and means one thousand, and attaching it to the newton, which the CGPM named in 1948, gives a unit sized for the loads that engineers actually handle. A kilonewton is 1,000 newtons.

One kilonewton is the weight of roughly 102 kilograms at standard gravity, or about 510 of the 200-gram apples that make a handy picture of a single newton. Structural engineers quote building and bridge loads this way, and rocket and jet engine makers quote thrust in kilonewtons and meganewtons. Each Space Shuttle solid rocket booster produced 3,300,000 pounds-force, or 14.7 meganewtons, which is 14,700 kilonewtons. Strengths of ropes, anchors and climbing hardware are also commonly given in the unit.

1 kilonewton = 1,000 newtons (exactly).

Sources: Wikipedia: Newton (unit); Wikipedia: Metric prefix; Wikipedia: Pound (force)

Related conversions

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